Methods for packaging floor panels, as well as packed set of floor panels

ABSTRACT

Method for packaging floor panels, more particularly floor panels of the type that consists of rectangular oblong floor panels that are intended to form a floor covering, wherein these floor panels are industrially manufactured in at least two widths and are provided with coupling parts at least at two opposite sides, wherein floor panels of different width are provided in the same package, more particularly the same box, wherein these floor panels are provided in a box in layers, wherein in at least one of these layers at least two floor panels are placed next to each other, with their longitudinal directions substantially parallel to each other.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/494,480, filed on Jun. 30, 2009, the entirety ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/494,480 is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/887,363 filed on Sep. 28, 2007 which is a national stageapplication of PCT Application No. PCT/IB/000993 filed on Mar. 28, 2006which claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/672,538, filed on Apr. 19, 2005, Belgian application BE 2005/0169filed on Mar. 31, 2005, and Belgian application BE 2006/0024 filed onJan. 12, 2006. The entirety of these application is incorporated byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to methods for packaging of floor panels, as wellas to packed sets of floor panels.

BACKGROUND

In general, the invention relates to packaged hard floor panels, which,at two or more sides, are provided with coupling parts and which can beprovided on an existing subfloor, either floatingly or glued, or in anyother manner, in order to form a floor covering. Hereby, the inventionis intended in particular for laminate panels, for example, with aprinted decor and a top structure on the basis of synthetic material,prefabricated parquet, with panels mostly consisting of several layersof material with, at the upper side, a top layer of solid wood with athickness of several millimeters, veneer parquet consisting of panelshaving a layer of veneer at their upper side, or solid parquet. Thisdoes not exclude that the invention is also applied for other hard floorpanels, whether or not composed of several parts, for example, with toplayers of other materials, such as, amongst others, cork, stone orstone-like materials, linoleum, vinyl, carpet, and so on. According toan important example, the invention is used for packaging so-called LVTflooring (Luxury vinyl tiles) or CVT flooring (composite vinyl tile).Such flooring is essentially manufactured from PVC (polyvinylchloride)and, in the case of LVT flooring, comprises several fused layers of softPVC, i.e. PVC comprising a plasticizer content larger than 12 phr. It isclear that also LVT or CVT flooring panels may be provided with couplingparts.

It is known that such coupling parts can be formed by means of aclassical tongue and groove connection, wherein these, when installingthe floor panels, possibly are glued into each other, or by means ofmechanical coupling parts providing for a mutual locking of the floorpanels in horizontal as well as in vertical directions, for example, asdescribed in the international patent application WO 97/47834. Thisdocument describes how the respective coupling parts at two oppositesides can be formed in a continuous machine, in other words, whilemoving the floor panel over rotating mechanical cutting tools. Thismethod is also called “continuous milling”.

It is clear that it is not excluded that such locking system can also beperformed in other forms than in a tongue and groove connection.

SUMMARY

According to a first object, the invention aims at an improved methodfor packaging floor panels, which allows a particularly smooth andefficient packaging. To this aim, the invention relates to a method forpackaging floor panels, of the type, wherein several floor panels, whichare provided with coupling parts at least at two opposite sides, arepackaged in a box, which is composed of at least one sheet-shapedpackaging element by means of a folding process. Preferably, at leastpart of the aforementioned folding process is performed while thepackaging element and the floor panels to be packaged have already beenbrought together.

Preferably, said sheet-shaped packaging element consists of cardboard,in particular corrugated cardboard.

The method according to the first object of the invention allows topackage the floor panels in a smooth manner at a high frequency, as aresult of which one packaging machine applying this method has such ahigh packaging capacity that this latter corresponds to the productioncapacity of several production lines of floor panels. Hereby, it isnoted that such packaging machine may or may not be installed in linewith one or more production lines. Also, such packaging machine can befed with floor panels coming from a magazine in which major amounts ofpanels are stocked after having been produced on one or more productionlines.

A method for packaging floor panels according to the first object of thepresent invention also offers the advantage that a buffer magazine foralready folded boxes possibly is made redundant.

In a preferred form of embodiment of the present invention, thepackaging element is folded around the quantity of floor panels to bepackaged therein. This is, for example, possible by depositing thequantity of floor panels to be packed on said packaging element, whilethis, either when it is still unfolded or already partially folded,before, as already mentioned, folding the packaging element around thequantity of floor panels to be packaged. An important advantage of suchpackaging method is that the box can be assembled very close around thefloor panels, such that floor panels in the box can not shift in mutualrespect, which might lead to scratches on the decorative layer of thefloor panels, to a heightened risk of damage to the coupling partsand/or other parts. In particular, this is of importance with floorpanels comprising a core of MDF or HDF and/or wherein the coupling partssubstantially consist of MDF of HDF.

In order to obtain a good packaging, preferably, during the foldingprocess, the quantity of floor panels to be packaged and the bottom ofthe box to be formed first will be positioned against each other,directly or indirectly, and only afterwards the sidewalls will be foldedagainst the quantity of floor panels. This offers the advantage thatstacked upon each other floor panels, which are somewhat shifted inmutual respect, automatically will be positioned in mutual respectduring folding of the sidewalls.

Preferably, also at least a number of portions of the box areinterconnected during the formation thereof by means of glue, moreparticularly so-called “hot melt” glue. This offers the advantage that anumber of complicated steps from traditional folding processes can beexcluded.

It is noted that said box further also can be packaged in a plasticfilm, for example, a shrink film, such that the risk of moisturepenetration, for example, during transport or stocking, is restricted.Because a package obtained according to the eighth aspect of theinvention can rest very closely against the floor panels, the risk of afloor panel piercing this plastic film is minimized, too, such that anoptimum protection against moisture penetration is obtained.

It is also noted that the floor panels in most cases are packaged in aquantity of 5 to 30 panels, and when relatively large panels areconcerned, for example, panels that are longer than 1 m, preferably lessthan 10, such that in all cases the weight of the packaging unit islimited to a weight that is ergonomic for the user of the floor panelsand that does not pose too high requirements in respect to the solidityof the packaging material. Within the scope of the invention, it is alsopossible that panels differing from each other, for example, panels ofdifferent length, are packaged together.

A method for packaging floor panels according to the the presentinvention can be applied with any form of boxes. So, for example, boxeswith inwardly inclined sidewalls can be applied, whereby the sidewallsthen are folded against the floor panels. This kind of boxes may, forexample, find its application there, where floor panels of differingshape are packed together, such as, for example, when packaging floorpanels of different widths together, whereby the floor panels arestacked in layers in such a manner, that preferably the width of thelayers decreases from the bottom towards the top in the box. Applyingsuch box also allows for that, when several of such boxes, preferablywith their sidewalls towards each other and alternately with the bottomdirected upward or downward, are stacked on a pallet, there is almost nolost space or, in other words, that the space taken on the palletconsists almost exclusively of floor panels and of packaging material.

It is noted that according to the invention, by a “box” always apackaging element has to be understood that is manufactured from one ormore sheet-shaped elements and that, after folding, has at least abottom, or a portion present at the bottom of the packed set of floorpanels, and at least two sidewalls. The sheet-shaped element may bemanufactured of different materials, however, here it is clear thatherein, materials are intended that as such have a certain rigidity,such as, for example, cardboard, corrugated cardboard or the like.

It is clear that the invention also relates to a set of floor panelsthat is thus packaged.

The invention also relates to a packed set of floor panels, with as acharacteristic that the set of floor panels is packed in a package thatconsists at least of a folded sheet-shaped element comprising a bottomand a number of upright sidewalls, whereby at least a number of thesidewalls are interconnected by means of glue. Moreover, preferably ashrink film or the like is provided around the whole. According to avariant, it is, however, not excluded to omit the shrink film and toprovide the box with a cover lid. Preferably, the box herein is oblongand glue connections are exclusively present at the short sides. Thislatter allows a smooth production of such boxes, in view of the factthat exclusively glue connections have to be performed at the locationof the short sides.

According to a second object, the invention aims at a method foradvantageously packaging floor panels of different widths in one and thesame package. To this aim, the invention relates to a method forpackaging floor panels, more particularly floor panels of the typeconsisting of rectangular oblong floor panels that are intended forforming a floor covering, whereby these floor panels are industriallymanufactured in at least two widths and are provided with coupling partsat least at two opposite sides, wherein floor panels of different widthsare provided in the same package, more particularly the same box, withthe characteristic that these floor panels are provided in a box inlayers, wherein in at least one of these layers at least two floorpanels are placed next to each other, with their longitudinal directionssubstantially parallel to each other.

This method has the advantage that a variety of beneficial packagingpossibilities is created for providing and/or presenting such floorpanels of different widths in a package, more particularly a box. So,for example, may the floor panels be provided next to each other insuccessive layers in such a manner that the filling degree of thepackage is optimized, notwithstanding the fact that different widths arepresent in one box. This method also allows to provide the floor panelsnext to each other in such a manner that the presence of different widthis immediately, or almost immediately, visible, either immediatelythrough a transparent portion of the package, or rather immediatelyafter such box has been opened and possibly only a number of floorpanels has been removed from it.

It is clear that, in order to obtain an efficient packaging, themajority of the layers and preferably all layers take up at least 70% ofthe internal width of the box, such that the freedom of movement of thefloor panels in the package is restricted.

In a preferred form of embodiment, the filling degree of the package,seen in width direction, for each of the aforesaid layers is at least90%, whereby the filling degree is defined as (A/B)×100, wherein:

A=the sum of the entire widths of the floor panels situated next to eachother in one layer;

-   a. B=the internal width of the box.

By “width of the floor panels”, herein the total width of the floorpanels is meant, including the coupling means. In this form ofembodiment, the risk of a mutual shifting of the floor panels isminimized, such that, for example, the risk that the decorative layer ofthe floor panels, as, for example, laminate panels, becomes damaged, isalso restricted. With floor panels that are provided with coupling partsof MDF of HDF, the thus limited freedom of movement also results in arestriction of the risk of damage at these coupling parts.

The internal width of the box may, for example, be chosen such that itsubstantially corresponds to the largest of the aforesaid differentwidths of the floor panels. In this manner, the shifting of the widestfloor panels is optimally restricted or even excluded. Additionally,this choice leads to a sturdy packaging, as the widest panels cancontribute to the strength of the package.

It is clear that a method for packaging according to the tenth aspectrequires less efforts in the distribution. In order to obtain that theinstalling person has too little or too much of a certain width, one boxmoreover preferably has as many floor panels of each width, and stillbetter as many or almost as many meters run of floor panels of eachwidth.

In a preferred form of embodiment, the method is applied for packagingfloor panels of three different widths in the same package, wherein thesum of a first width and a second width is a whole, or almost a whole,multiple of the third width. So, for example, does the sum of the widthsof the narrowest and of the widest floor panels substantially correspondto two times the width of the floor panels of intermediate width.According to an important form of embodiment of the invention, thepresent example allows a very compact packaging, whereby according tothis form of embodiment, on the one hand, at least layers are formed,which, seen in a cross-section of the package, comprise exactly twofloor panels that are of the intermediate width, and, on the other hand,layers are formed, which, also seen in a cross-section of the package,at the same time comprise only two floor panels, of which a first,however, is of the smallest width and a second is of the largest width.

It is noted that in one and the same package, also floor panels ofdifferent widths can be combined with floor panels of different lengths,preferably in a manner that does not allow any, or almost any, mutualshifting among the different floor panels, in width direction of thefloor panels as well as in the longitudinal direction of the floorpanels. Preferably, herein in one box of each width the same amount ofmeters run shall be provided, and/or of each length the same amount ofsquare meters. For packaging these panels, a combination can be made ofthe present invention according to the tenth aspect and the packagingmethod for panels of different lengths that is known from BE 1015299.

The packaging method that is applied according to the inventionpreferably can be a method such as described by means of the firstobject of the invention, as such packaging still further restricts theshifting of the panels, however, other packaging methods can be appliedas well, for example, packaging in an already assembled cardboard boxand/or a shrink film.

It is noted that avoiding scratches by means of applying a methodaccording to the invention is of particular importance with laminatepanels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With the intention of better showing the characteristics of theinvention, hereafter, as an example without any limitative character,several preferred forms of embodiment are described, with reference tothe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a method according to the invention;

FIGS. 2 to 7, in perspective, represent views of the packaging stepstaking place in the areas indicated by F16, F17, F18, F19, F20 and F21in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 represents a view in perspective onto a set of floor panels thatis obtained, amongst others, by means of a method according to theinvention;

FIG. 9 represents a cross-section according to the line XXIII-XXIII inFIG. 8;

FIGS. 10 and 11 represent variants according to a same view as in FIG.23.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 to 7 show a method for packaging floor panels 1 according to thepresent invention. Hereby, several floor panels 1, which, at least attwo opposite sides 3A-3B and/or 4A-4B, are provided with coupling parts,for example, 17A-17B, as described above, are packaged in a box 35. Thisbox 35 consists of at least one sheet-shaped packaging element 36 thatis composed by means of a folding process.

According to the packaging process represented in FIG. 1, floor panels 1are supplied in stacks by pushing a fixed number of such floor panels 1,in this case seven, from a stack 37 onto a transport device 38 by meansof a to- and fro-moving drive element 39. Said stack 37 is each timefilled up from below and ordered by means of a pressing element 40, suchthat the floor panels 1 are lying precisely one above the other. Thesupply of the packaging elements 36 here takes place by providing themone after the other on a second transport device 41.

Said transport devices 38 and 41 bring the floor panels 1 and thepackaging elements 36 together during the folding process, after whichthe packaging elements 36 are folded around the quantity of floor panels1 to be packed therein and subsequently the packed floor panels 1 aretransported off, such as schematically represented at the uppermostportion of the transport device 41. When bringing them together, thefloor panels 1 are put on the aforementioned packaging element 36, whilethe packaging element 36 either is still unfolded or is alreadypartially folded, before, as aforementioned, folding the packagingelement 36 around the quantity of floor panels 1 to be packaged.Preferably, the panels 1 are automatically deposited at the right placeon the packaging element 36. This is possible, for example, by adjustingthe supply from both aforementioned transport devices 38 and 41 to eachother, for example, by means of sensors that detect the location of thefloor panels 1 as well as of the packaging elements 36 and regulate thespeed of the respective supplies.

FIGS. 2 through 7 show how such packaging element 36 can be folded invarious successive stages. FIGS. 2 and 3 show that, in this example, thefolding process is performed in part, before the packaging element 36 isbrought together with the floor panels 1. During the further course ofthe folding process, represented in FIGS. 4 to 7, a box 35 with a bottom42 and sidewalls 43 is formed, wherein the quantity of floor panels 1and the bottom 42 first, directly or indirectly, are positioned againsteach other and only afterwards the sidewalls 43 are folded against thequantity of floor panels 1. Preferably, at least a number of portions ofthe box 35 during the formation thereof are connected by means of glue44, more particularly so-called “hot melt” glue. In the representedexample, the portions that are connected by means of glue 44 can berestricted to the transverse walls of the box 35, which in this mannerare connected to the flaps 45.

It is clear that the box 36 represented in FIGS. 16 to 21 also meets thecharacteristics of the ninth aspect of the invention.

FIGS. 8 and 9 represent a set of floor panels 1, which is obtained bymeans of a method according to, amongst others, the tenth aspect of thisinvention. In this method for packaging floor panels 1, it is startedfrom rectangular oblong floor panels 1, which industrially have beenmanufactured in at least two widths, in this case three widths B1-B2-B3,and are provided with coupling parts at least at two opposite sides3A-3B. Herein, floor panels 1 of different width are provided in thesame package, more particularly in the same box 35, and preferablyafterwards have been wrapped with a film 46, for example, a shrink film.

The floor panels 1 are provided in the box 35 in layers 47, wherein inat least one of these layers 47 at least two floor panels 1 are placednext to each other, with their longitudinal directions substantiallyparallel to each other. The filling degree of the package, seen in widthdirection, for each of the layers 47, as represented, preferably is atleast 90%. In the example of FIG. 23, the filling degree is defined as(B1+B2)/W in respect to the layers 47 in which two floor panels 1 areprovided next to each other, and B3/W in respect to the layers 47 inwhich only one floor panel 1 is provided. Wherein B1, B2 and B3 relateto the various total widths of the floor panels 1 and W relates to theinternal width of the box 35. In this example, it applies that the sumof a first width B1 and a second width B2 is a whole, or almost a whole,multiple of the third width B3 and in this case is equal, or almostequal, to the width B3 of the widest floor panels 1.

FIG. 10 shows an important variant of such set of floor panels 1. Thisset is obtained by applying a method according to the tenth aspect ofthe invention, wherein, on the one hand, layers 47 are formed, which,seen in a cross-section, comprise exactly two floor panels 1 that havethe intermediate width B2, and, on the other hand, layers 47 are formed,which, seen in cross-section, also comprise only two floor panels 1, ofwhich a first, however, has the narrowest width B1 and a second has thelargest width B3. In this example, the widths are chosen such that thesum of the width B1 of the narrowest floor panels 1 and the width B3 ofthe widest floor panels 1 substantially corresponds to two times thewidth B2 of the floor panels 1 of intermediate width.

FIG. 11 shows a variant wherein at least two floor panels 1 of a firstwidth B1 are commonly wrapped or packaged to provide a first subpackage48A; and wherein at least two floor panels 1 of a second width B2 arecommonly wrapped or packaged to provide for a second subpackage 48B;wherein said second subpackage 48B is separate from said firstsubpackage 48A and preferably free from floor panels having said firstwidth; and in that said first and second subpackage 48A-48B are providedin the same box 35 or another common package, such that at least twofloor panels 1 of different width B1-B2 are placed next to each other,with their longitudinal directions substantially parallel to each other.In the example a third subpackage 48C is provided for comprising atleast two floor panels 1 of a third width B3. Clearly also here, thefloor panels 1 are provided in the box 35 in layers 47.

In the illustrated example the subpackage 48A-48B-48C has been createdby wrapping said at least two panels of a common width B1-B2-B3 with atransparent film 46. According to another example, cardboard could beused for the subpackages as well, be it in combination with a film 46 ornot.

Preferably, the packed set of panels according to the invention is suchthat the decorative side 11 of at least one floor panel 1 can be seenthrough the packaging material. As is the case in FIGS. 10 and 11,preferably the decorative sides 11 of at least two floor panels 1 ofdifferent width B1, B3 are visible through the packaging material. Suchembodiment is helpful to the consumer making his choice in a DIY store.In the embodiment of FIG. 11, all three different widths B1, B2, B3 arevisible.

It is to be noted that the box 35 not necessarily needs to have a bottom42 that runs continuously from one side edge of the package to the otherside edge, like in FIGS. 9 to 11. It is possible, but not illustratedhere, that the box 35 in fact consists of two or more L-shaped orU-shaped elements, preferably made from card board, wherein each elementpreferably encapsulates the edges of the layers 47 of the packed set offloor panels and cover at least the coupling parts 3A, or 3B as the casemay be, at the respective edge. Preferably the element also coves atleast a portion of the bottom of the packed set of floor panels 1 closeto the coupling parts 3A.

It is also clear that the invention also relates to sets of floor panelsthat are packaged by the application of methods of the invention.

1. Method for packaging floor panels of the type that consists ofrectangular oblong floor panels that are intended to form a floorcovering, wherein these floor panels are industrially manufactured in atleast two widths and are provided with coupling parts at least at twoopposite sides, wherein floor panels of different width are provided inthe same package including a box, wherein these floor panels areprovided in the box in layers, wherein in at least one of these layersat least two floor panels are placed next to each other, with theirlongitudinal directions substantially parallel to each other.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the filling degree of the package, seen inwidth direction, for each of the aforesaid layers is at least 90%,whereby the filling degree is defined as(A/B)×100, wherein: A=the sum of the entire widths of the floor panelsituated next to each other in one layer; B=the internal width of thebox.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein herein floor panels of threedifferent widths are provided in the same package, wherein the sum ofthe first width and a second width is a whole, or almost a whole,multiple of the third width.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein hereinfloor panels of three different widths are provided in the same package,wherein the sum of the width of the narrowest and the width of thebroadest floor panels substantially corresponds to two times the widthof the floor panels of intermediate width.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein herein floor panels of three different widths are provided inthe same package when packaging the floor panels, and wherein, on theone hand, at least layers are formed, which, seen in a cross-section,comprise exactly two floor panels that are of the intermediate width,and, on the other hand, layers are formed, which, seen in cross-section,also comprise only two floor panels, of which a first, however, is ofthe smallest width and a second is of the largest width.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein at least two floor panels of a first width arecommonly wrapped or packaged to provide a first subpackage; and whereinat least two floor panels of a second width are commonly wrapped orpackaged to provide for a second subpackage; and in that said first andsecond subpackage are provided in the same box or another commonpackage, such that at least two floor panels of different width areplaced next to each other, with their longitudinal directionssubstantially parallel to each other.